Title: What's Needed
Author: SciFiLeslie
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: A missing scene from "Parting of the Ways" set after the Doctor rescues Rose from the Dalek ship and before going back to the Game Station.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all related bits are the property of the BBC. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: This is my first Doctor Who Fanfic. I hope to write more as I think the writing bug has bitten me again. If you care to review, please do and know that I am just not looking for flowery comments. If something seems off or just bugs you, please let me know. Enjoy!
Dedicated to the hardest working Doctor Who Fan Club in the USA …The US Branch OF UNIT…I love you guys!
The continuous mantra of "EXTEMINATE-EXTEMINATE-EXTEMINATE" reverberated throughout the TARDIS console room as the Doctor laid his head against the closed doors.
Jack had immediately gone over to the console to assist the Doctor if necessary while Rose had sunk into a nearby chair. Again she had nearly been killed by a Dalek, or in this case numerous Daleks. And their plans for the people on Earth made her sick to her stomach. She's rather die outright then to be engineered into a Dalek and shuddered at the thought. She had just taken a few deep breaths to calm herself when she first heard it.
It sounded like a loud and labored exhale.
Rose looked first to Jack who was busy at the console. At the second occurrence of the noise Jack looked up at Rose also trying to pinpoint the unfamiliar sound. He hit a button on the console which immediately muted the Dalek mantra from outside. Rose then looked to the Doctor, who was still standing at the doors when she heard it again. And it was coming from the Doctor.
Several moments passed as the Doctor continued to almost gulp for air. Jack and Rose alternated looking at each other and at the Doctor at a loss as what to do.
"Jack, can you get us out of here?" Rose asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jack looked over the TARDIS controls with a critical eye. He had been assisting the Doctor for some time and felt reasonably confident he could get them away. His hands moved over the controls with little hesitation, and the time rotor sounded its familiar groan as it began to pump up and down.
"We've dematerialized and I've got us in the time vortex…I think."
"You think?" Rose almost hissed. But after Jack checked a few readings, he nodded confidently and Rose relaxed slightly.
The Doctor's ragged exhales continued. Rose got out of her seat, walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder thinking to comfort him. Somehow it seemed to trigger an escalation. Now the Doctor was retching up was little contents was in his stomach.
"We're going."
The Doctor had trailed Rose and Jack into the TARDIS as he turned and flashed the Daleks a smug grin as he closed the door then laid his head against them. Oh dear Rassilon…what was he going to do?
He exhaled heavily.
At that moment the Doctor looked inward and saw:
"All that is": the Game station, the Earth, the Daleks outside, his own relief that Rose was alive, Rose being frightened and trying not to be, a sunrise on a distant planet, Jack trying to get them to safety because at the moment he just couldn't
He exhaled again. He couldn't fall apart now.
"All that was": his mother holding his hand, past companions, he and his granddaughter Susan as he "borrowed" an old Type 40 Time Capsule, the beginning of time, his planet-his people-the Dalek ships burning, his last regeneration when he had wished for death instead, his grabbing Rose's hand and saying "RUN", he and Rose eating chips.
He exhaled again trying to steady himself. He WOULD NOT fall apart now. Please Rassilon, he silently begged. Not now.
"All that ever could be": his own final death, Daleks on the Game Station, he and Rose lying on grass looking at a large city in the distance and laughing; Rose dying on the Game Station.
It was then that he felt Rose's hand on his shoulder and vomited. That in itself was not so bad, but the dry heaves that followed wracked his body without mercy. Rose made gentle circular motions on his back until he was finished. Then she wrapped her arms around him as his legs gave way, and they sank to the floor.
Jack looked at the scene before him. The Doctor was on the floor spasming with grief and raw emotion. Rose had her arms wrapped around him whispering nonsensical words of comfort. Several moments passed, and it almost felt to Jack as if he were intruding on a very private and emotional moment. But then he saw that the Doctor had quieted and was trying to standing up, so he ran over and offered a hand up.
The Doctor looked only slightly embarrassed by his breakdown. It's not as if he or Rose would think any less of him, Jack thought. The only person to do that would probably be the Doctor himself. Jack reached into a pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to the Doctor.
"Thank you, Captain." The Doctor took the offering and quickly wiped at his face and jammed the soiled cloth into a pocket. "And thank you, Rose." His voice hitched slightly as he said her name. "Now let's see what you've done to my ship."
The Doctor walked over the console and surveyed the various controls. "Nice bit of dematerializing. I'll show you how to set coordinates…once we sort out this mess."
Jack nodded. "So Doctor, what are we going to do?"
The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. "We'll do what's needed."
-end-