What Was Expected Of Me
Notes: I was just reading up on the Doctor's Academy days and this just leapt out. Oneshot. Set…whenever you like. Rose and 9Doctor.
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It was a lazy afternoon in the TARDIS, although it could have been morning or evening and Rose wouldn't have been able to tell. Her watch hadn't lasted much longer than a day on board, and it no longer seemed important. They ate when they were hungry and slept when they were tired. Neither of them saw the irony that whilst they travelled in time, they were effectively 'timeless'.
They were taking a break from their high speed lifestyle. The Doctor insisted on these, although Rose somehow knew that they weren't for his benefit. On days like these, Rose liked to listen to music or watch videos, whilst the Doctor tinkered with the TARDIS or buried himself in a good book. Sometimes they would go out and find a secluded piece of countryside on some distant planet. Sometimes they had picnics. When Rose thought about days like these afterwards they seemed like clichés, and perhaps that's what they were.
She turned off her mp3 player and stretched slowly, then made her way to the library to ask the Doctor if he wanted something to eat.
"Fancy an omelette?" she shouted as she poked her head around the door frame. The library was impossibly huge.
There was a whirr as the Doctor came into view, riding on one of the wheeled ladders with a book in his hand. "Last time you made omelettes we had to replace the non-stick pan," he reminded her.
"I'll be careful, I promise," she said, moving towards him and giving his ladder a little push.
"Oi careful, this is a first edition!" he said as he clung on, trying not to drop the book. He scowled at her and climbed down. "You're a pest, Rose Tyler."
"First edition of what?" she asked, looking at the spine. "The Taming of the Shrew."
"You could get a lot of helpful tips from this book," he said, looking a little grumpy.
"That's the one they made into a film, right?" she said vaguely.
"Oh I should've known you'd remember the dumbed down version," he said, rolling his eyes as he put the book affectionately on a little table. "Omelettes then." He took off towards the kitchen, Rose stomping behind him.
"I'm not dumbed down," she said as he rummaged in a cupboard.
"I didn't say you were," he said. "Chicken eggs?"
"Yes, chicken eggs, not those ones you got on Staraboss," she said, perching on a stool. "I just don't like Shakespeare."
"How can you not like Shakespeare?" he asked, looking horrified. "He's right up there with Dickens!"
"Do you know how much of him we had rammed down our throats at school?" she demanded, counting on her fingers. "Midsummer Nights' Dream, Much Ado, Romeo and Juliet, sonnets and poems and even his life story!"
"So what? You should think yourself lucky," he said. "What happened to the spatula?"
"We lost it on a space station," Rose supplied. "The one with the slugs. And Shakespeare gets very, very dull after a while."
"I can't believe that! I've been reading his stuff for hundreds of years and I'm not bored yet," he said with a grin.
"Yeah well, I bet you were a model student," she said grumpily. "Teacher's pet, straight As…"
"You really think so?" he asked casually as he stirred the eggs with a fork and added milk.
"Well…yeah," Rose said. "You're always lording your intelligence over me. Makes sense you were a swot in school."
"I do not 'lord' my intelligence over you!" he said, trying to light the gas stove.
"You did go to school didn't you?" she asked, getting some ham and cheese out of the fridge.
"Yes, we had schools," he said, rolling his eyes. "I got into the Time Academy too."
"What's a Time Academy when it's at home?" asked Rose as she chopped up the cheese, checking first that it was from Sainsbury's and not from another planet.
"Sort of private school I spose," he muttered. "I didn't like it much."
"Oh come on, I bet you lived for school," she teased.
"Wasn't all bad," he said grudgingly. "But I certainly wasn't a model student. As Romana liked to remind me, I only got 51 on my finals. The second time round."
"Oh don't tell me things like that, you'll shatter the illusion. I still think you're the all-knowing Doctor…" she said, her tongue between her teeth. "Romana a friend of yours?"
"Used to be," said the Doctor briefly. He quickly changed the subject. "We studied all sorts of things at the Academy. Maths, telepathy, emotional detachment…"
"Hold on, emotional what?" asked Rose, frowning as she chucked some ham and cheese onto the omelette. The Doctor folded it over deftly and slid it onto a plate.
"Emotional detachment," he repeated.
"Sounds like a bundle of laughs," commented Rose.
"Oh yeah," said the Doctor sarcastically. "But it was a normal subject, lots of people learnt it." His hand brushed hers as he passed her the plate. He smiled softly. "I was never very good at it."
She turned away to hide her blush. "So you liked school then?" she asked quickly, sitting down at the table. The Doctor pulled his ear thoughtfully.
"Difficult to say really," he said. "I liked learning o'course, still do. I just didn't like the idea of what would happen when I'd finished. Time Lord society would never have suited me, so I wandered off!" He finished with a happy grin.
"What was so bad about the Time Lords?" asked Rose curiously.
"Stuck up snobs," said the Doctor decisively. "Considered themselves higher beings that shouldn't meddle, even if they see civilisations destroying each other. I was part of the honoured upper class and I hated every second."
"Oh yeah, riches, importance, what's to like?" she teased.
"I'm a richer man now than I ever could have been on Gallifrey," he said firmly. "I'm not happy it's gone, far from it. My people were an excellent, intelligent race, even if I do say so myself. I just couldn't be a part of them. They made me President and I ran away. They made me feel like I was suffocating…"
Rose suddenly felt very small. "Your omelette's burning," she said in a tiny voice. The Doctor rescued it quickly and sat down opposite her. They ate in silence for a moment.
"I'm sorry if—"
"Don't be stupid," he interrupted. "You know you can ask me anything."
"But I get what you're saying though," she blurted suddenly. "I felt like that all the time at school, suffocated. People told me I'd never amount to much."
"They were completely wrong," he said immediately. "I'll have to take you to a school reunion, because you can bet that none of them will have travelled in time and saved planets. There's not much more you can amount to."
"True," said Rose with a grin. "I'd love to see Shireen's face…" He chuckled.
"See, for me it was the opposite," he said. "Everyone expected too much to start with. That was what made me determined to get away y'know, what was expected of me." He swallowed a piece of omelette thoughtfully. "Still, it wasn't long before they were telling me too that I'd never amount to anything in the galaxy. I think one of my teachers said I had a 'propensity for vulgar facetiousness', but it was probably because he didn't get the joke." He flashed another wild grin.
She laughed. "What else did you learn about?" she asked after a pause.
"All sorts," he said vaguely. "I think I took nearly every course going."
"Ahh, so you were a swot!" crowed Rose triumphantly. He kicked her under the table.
"I was not a swot by Time Lord standards, thank you very much," he said primly. "I'll have you know I was a rebel. I stole this TARDIS!"
"Well let's put it to use then," said Rose, refusing to be impressed. "Take me somewhere. I'm feeling cooped up."
"Cooped up? In the TARDIS?" The Doctor looked at her in disbelief.
"Come on, let's go for a run somewhere," she pleaded, drumming her fingers against the table top as she tried to work off some restless energy.
"You're like an excitable puppy," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh come on granddad," she said, pulling him up. The Doctor laughed it off, but something about being called granddad made him feel lonely again. But Rose dragged him to the control room and shouted at him enthusiastically and he knew he couldn't possibly be entirely lonely in her presence. She was always looking for a new adventure. She was full of life. She was, he realised, a lot like him.
"Will Earth do?" he shouted over the sound of the TARDIS.
"As long as it's not raining," she said, grinning.
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They were having another cliché moment she realised as she looked up at the sky. Lying on the grass in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, in the shade of one very lonely tree. Chatting about where they would go next.
"We could go and visit Shakespeare," suggested the Doctor.
"No thanks!" said Rose, shuddering. "But I wouldn't say no to a quick visit to Johnny Depp's mansion."
"He's not a famous playwright."
"He doesn't need to be. He has other assets. You wouldn't understand."
"I understand a little too well thank you," he grumbled.
"Ahhh, getting jealous?" she teased, turning her head to look at him.
He smiled and took her hand. "Like I said. I was never very good at emotional detachment."
"I think that's something I can live with," she admitted, smiling. They lay in a happy silence for a while, then the Doctor squeezed her hand.
"Come on, let's get moving," he said. She groaned.
"Too comfy," she mumbled. He laughed and pulled her up.
"I thought you wanted a run," he said, his eyes twinkling.
"Oh no…" she said. "I want a sleep. Let me sleep…"
"What do you expect of me Rose?" he asked suddenly, looking quite serious. She just smiled lazily.
"I expect the unexpected," she said. He beamed.
"Come on lass," he said, attempting a Yorkshire accent. "Let's get up into those hills."
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