Good to have you all back. I'm so happy to see the last chapter was good. Hopefully this one is even better.
Chapter 13
She felt guilty for leaving the Doctor like that. She did not intend to seem upset with the question. Though the question had, in fact, upset her. Not for the reason she wanted it to seem, however. It was simply that . . . her name, her true name, had been something she had long put behind her. It was from a painful past. A forgotten past. A past she felt she no longer deserved to be. The name was of a person she no longer was. A person who she long put into the grave and walked away from. The few who had figured out that she had changed her name had asked her. David had questioned her about it a number of times, begging to know who she had once been. But even him she never dared say the name allowed. For that was her last secret. Her final secret. Something she had no qualms in keeping hidden and away from all. So the Doctor asking her about it . . . That had been the first time she actually felt conflicted in not saying it. She didn't know why, either. It had never been something she questioned about keeping hidden before. What had changed now?
But still, she knew it didn't matter. What did it matter if he knew her true name or not? It didn't matter. She was Madison now. Always would be, until she had to change it again. Not that she planned on doing so any time soon. Travelling with the Doctor, she didn't see the need to change her name as often as she had to in the past. She could probably even keep the name for a very long time. Longer than she ever had to before. She quite liked the name 'Madison'. It was a name she picked up from a movie she enjoyed. She thought it suited her as the movie had a very similar story to her, funny enough.
Madison contemplated this and more as she walked through the corridor of the TARDIS that morning. After getting a night's rest and getting a quick bite to eat from the TARDIS kitchen, she pondered over what had happened the other night with the Doctor. Everything that they had discussed and then some. What she felt about it, still reeling somewhat from the confession he had made and the turmoil he was experiencing from his past choices. She hoped that they could possibly discuss it further. Maybe not about the choice that ended Gallifrey, but of how he was feeling and how she might be able to help him. Even if she could simply help him smile today, that was all she really cared about. She wanted to see him smile. Maybe they shouldn't talk about it and they should simply go onto a peaceful planet or do something around the TARDIS that the Doctor enjoyed. That sounded like the ideal option for them if she were honest with herself.
When she walked into the console room, she noticed that the Doctor and Rose were in some sort of deep conversation. The Time Lord was sitting in the captain's chair, legs bent as he rested the edge of his feet on the console itself. Rose was leaning against the edge of the console as she faced the Doctor. Each one of them had a heavy expression on their face. The girl was biting her lip, chewing on it in a nervous habit. The Doctor was merely frowning as though in deep thought.
"Good morning," Madison called to them, earning their attention. She tugged on the sleeves of her dark green jumper, lips pursed in worriment as she saw their expressions not changing as she walked over to them. "Is everything all right?" she asked in concern.
"Yeah," Rose mumbled, no longer biting her lip as she looked to Madison in expectation. As though hoping for help with something. "Actually, not really. I was just wondering . . . You got to see someone from your past, yeah? Then, why can't I go see someone from mine?"
"It's not really from your past if he wasn't around when you were alive," the Doctor mentioned, ignoring the frown the girl threw at him.
"That's not the point," Rose grumbled. "I just want to see him, that's all. Just to see what he was like. Maybe at different points of his life or something."
"Well, that's asking a bit much, isn't it?" the Doctor replied smoothly.
Rose frowned and turned her eyes away as her face heated up somewhat. She began picking at a spot on the console. "If we can't, if it goes against the law of time or something, then never mind, just leave it."
"Who are you wanting to see?" Madison asked the girl, pondering on who it could be. She had a feeling of who it was but . . . already she felt that wouldn't be a wise idea.
"My dad," Rose said, confirming Madison's suspicions. "I've just been thinking about him lately and I really would like to see him." Madison shared a glance with the Doctor. She could see his frown of concern, matching what she was feeling for the girl as well.
"That . . . might not be the best idea," Madison said hesitantly, cautiously wanting to warn Rose about going to such lengths to see someone like that. "It's not a pleasant experience, seeing someone who you know is dead. Trust me. I just experienced that for myself yesterday."
"I can handle it," Rose said in defiance, straightening in her posture to show her being ready for what she had to face.
"We're just worried about you," the Doctor said, keeping his voice calm as he stared at the girl. His brow furrowed heavily. "Madison's right, it's not something fun to go through. It can be very painful."
"If you can't do it-," Rose began again.
"No, I can. I just want you to be sure this is what you want," the Doctor spoke over her, still giving the girl a concerned look. "You won't know how hard it'll be to go through until it's too late."
Rose appeared to think about it for a moment. Carefully weighing her options. Then, finally, the girl gave a determined nod. "I want to see him."
The Doctor shared another glance with Madison. She nodded rather reluctantly, knowing this might be something Rose truly did need. Even if it did feel like a bad idea in the making. He nodded as well, obviously feeling the same thing she was judging by the way he frowned. But then he smiled at Rose. "Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." He then got up from the chair, reaching over to pull a lever and begin their journey.
XxXxXxXxXx
They went to different moments of Pete Tyler's life. Mostly moments with him and Jackie. There was the first date, which seemed like any normal date to Madison as she watched it. It had been a night out in a pub with the girls for Jackie during a speed date. Apparently, Pete was the nicest one out of the bunch. Rose had been disappointed as they watched it happen from the TARDIS. The girl complained as her mother had always told the story of being something rather special and romantic. But the date had been nothing more than a reason to get tipsy and to mess around. Then the girl hoped for something better with the wedding between Jackie and Pete. This only appeared to let Rose down even more. She had pictured her father taller, for one thing, and the wedding vows were nothing like she had been told by her mother. It went rather awkwardly and seemed to be just something quick to get over rather than a grand ceremony. Jackie must have painted it in a better light for Rose judging by the girl's heavy frown through it all.
Madison thought it was all rather nice, romantic in its own way. Any time a couple managed to get together was something to be treasured, regardless of the circumstances. At least, that was what she thought. So what if it was a speed date and an awkward ceremony of marriage. It was just nice seeing two people meet and create a life together. She never had that chance herself. Most likely never would. David and she had decided getting married would only be too much trouble for them as he would get older while she remained the same age. Then the question of children had popped up and . . . well . . . that, unfortunately, would never come to be. Not with anyone. But, anyway, it was nice seeing Rose's parents' life come together.
"I can't believe he'd gotten her name wrong," Rose grumbled as they walked back into the TARDIS after the ceremony was over. There wasn't even a reception for the wedding. It was merely vows exchanged with Jackie and Pete leaving right after. The disappointment was clear on Rose's face as she leaned against the console, balancing herself as the ship rocked around them as the Doctor steered them off again.
"I thought it was cute. You could see how nervous he was," Madison said, trying to offer a better light to the situation.
Rose didn't appear to think this, however, as she merely frowned heavily and shook her head. "Mum always said it was the happiest day of her life. But there she looked ready to strangle him."
"Different perspective," the Doctor offered in thought. "She might have looked back on it differently after your dad died."
". . . Maybe," Rose mumbled, still looking unsure about what she had witnessed. Shaking her head, she turned to the Doctor then. "There's still . . . one last thing I want to do." Now the girl appeared a bit anxious. Her bottom lip was bitten and she shifted on the spot. She even began to lightly pick at a spot on the console. "I . . .," she sucked in a deep breath," I want to see when my dad died." The Doctor halted in what he was doing. Hand halfway towards grabbing a lever as he stared blankly at the rotor in the centre. Madison was alarmed by this request, brows arching as she gazed at Rose in shock.
"You want to what?" the Doctor questioned, turning to the girl as though trying to see if he heard her correctly.
"He died . . . by a hit-and-run. November the 7th, 1987," Rose explained to them. "He died near home, in the street . . . all alone. No one was there for him when he died. Mum said how she wished someone, anyone, had been there for him when he went. I want to be that someone. So he doesn't die alone." The girl gazed at them both in desperation, appearing ready to plead with them as Madison knew their hesitation was clearly evident on their faces. "Please."
"You sure?" the Doctor questioned her carefully, giving the girl a searching gaze. "This is a big request, Rose. Bigger than the first two."
"Yeah. I'm sure," Rose replied, sounding more determined now. No longer biting her bottom lip as she stood straighter.
"You don't want to do this," Madison said, trying her best to sound gentle as she walked over and touched the girl's arm. "Watching someone die . . . it's horrible. It's something that can never be unseen. The image can haunt you forever."
"I'm ready for that," Rose countered steadily. She looked at them both, eyes wavering. "Please. I want to do this."
Madison stared at the Doctor, hoping that he could talk the girl out of it. But she was shocked to see him nodding and agreeing with the girl's request. Oh, dear. This was not a good idea. Her gut twisted uncomfortably as she just knew it would go terribly for Rose. She didn't want the girl to be tormented by the death of her own father. It was something so disturbing to watch one's own parents pass. She could never rid herself of the haunted images of her mother and father wasting away slowly before succumbing to a terrible disease. In only a matter of days, too.
"November the 7th?" the Doctor asked as he started to work the controls of the TARDIS.
"1987," Rose said, watching the Doctor closely as he began to take them to their destination. Madison sighed, shaking her head as she sat down in the captain's chair.
"This really isn't a good idea," she mumbled under her breath. She didn't want to tell Rose what she should and shouldn't do with the decisions of her life. But she felt that this was something Rose was going to regret greatly after they were finished. Well . . . if Rose did or not, Madison knew that she was going to be there for the girl either way.
"It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day," Rose said after they all stepped out into the sunlight of the morning of 1987. The chill of November was around them as a slight wind carried over them. Madison looked around at their surroundings, seeing just a normal day like any other.
"Sometimes even the most ordinary days can become the most tragic," she said softly, knowing how the girl must feel in seeing such a normal day of her father's death. It had been an ordinary, sunny day for her when her parents both died, too. Something that made it feel even more awful somehow.
"The past is another country. 1987 is just the Isle of Wight," the Doctor said as he nodded to Madison. He looked at Rose then, studying the girl carefully. "You sure about this?"
"Yeah," Rose said, her voice full of resolve. She glanced around, nodding towards a block ahead of them. "It should happen . . . right down there." There was hesitancy in the girl's step now. She went to move but stopped as both Madison and the Doctor watched her swallow heavily.
"We're here for you every step of the way," Madison said gently as she took Rose's hand in hers and held it firm. This seemed to help Rose as the girl nodded to her and had a firmer expression before taking the next step forward. All three of them went down the road, walking steadily towards their destination. Soon, they arrived at the road Rose had them stop at. They looked around, seeing no one else around. It was just a small road off the way from all the other busier ones. A road that looked so normal. Madison could feel Rose slowly grow tense beside her.
"This is it. Jordan Road," she began saying, seeming to both be trying to explain to them what was happening and to calm herself down. "He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, 'That stupid vase.'" Rose grew tenser still as a green car pulled up next to the curb of the sidewalk. Inside the vehicle, they could see Pete Tyler gathering up something from the passenger seat and getting ready to step out. "He got out of his car . . . and crossed the road." Madison felt Rose beginning to shake. "Oh, god, this is it."
They watched as Pete stepped out of his car, grabbed the vase and had just closed the door when he faced the oncoming driver in a tan car. The driver, who looked like a young man, flinched in alarm but there was no time to stop. Rose turned her head away and so did Madison. Neither one of them was able to watch as Pete was run right over. They heard the sickening sound of a body thumping hard against the car and then to the ground. A scattering sound of a vase followed closely behind. Then, squealing of tires as the car drove off hurriedly, escaping the scene. When Madison looked back, she could see Pete laying in the middle of the road, weakly moving as he fought to stay alive. She glanced over when hearing a shaking breath leave Rose. The girl's hazel-brown eyes were wide as she stared at the sight in horror. Her body began to tremble in place.
"Go to him. Quick," the Doctor said softly, touching Rose's arm to encourage the girl to do as she wished, to be there for her father as he passed. Rose was still frozen in place, quaking head to toe.
"Rose, you have to go now, before he's gone," Madison said gently, squeezing the girl's hand to show that they were there for her. But these words seemed to snap Rose into another action as instead of running to her father, she turned and ran away from the scene, rushing away as tears streamed down her face. Madison let out a soft sigh, sharing a glance with the Doctor as both of them had heavy hearts. They then quickly ran after Rose, trying to catch up with the girl. They found her in a small alleyway between two red brick buildings, sitting on the ground and crying heavily. Tears streamed down her face as she sat hunched over. Madison quickly sat beside her, pulling the girl into a strong hug. Rose clung to her, sniffling against her shoulder. The Doctor sat on the girl's other side, rubbing soothing circles into the girl's back. As time passed, they eventually heard the sound of an ambulance siren.
"It's too late now," Rose said after moving her face away from Madison, sniffling and rubbing at her face. Her shoulders sagged in utter sadness. "By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead." She shook her head, staring down at her lap in defeat.
"Don't be too hard on yourself for running away," Madison told the girl softly, rubbing strong circles on her shoulders. "It's something very hard to have to face."
"But he can't die on his own," Rose cried, looking to the Doctor desperately. "Can I try again?" The Doctor blinked, apparently taken back by this. Madison frowned, a bit puzzled why the girl would ask this. Wasn't it obvious that there were no do-overs with something like this? If she understood time correctly, once they were present for a moment, then they couldn't exactly go back and try it again. It was over. Said and done. It would only be a paradox if they did try, right?
"Okay," the Doctor said, surprising Madison greatly. He grabbed Rose's arm, pulling the girl up from the ground and steering her away back to where the TARDIS was parked. Madison didn't say anything as she followed along behind them. She frowned as she was confused as to why the Doctor would agree to a 'do-over'. It didn't make any sense. Didn't it go against the rules of time or something? It felt as though it should. Something in her gut told her this was a very bad idea. Though it wasn't an instinct of danger like she normally felt. Just more of a logical standpoint of it being an extremely bad idea. As they entered the TARDIS, Rose standing near the doors as she bit her lip and anxiously stood there, and the Doctor steering the ship back to where they had just been, Madison went over to him more urgently.
"Will this even work? Is there some sort of rule we'll be breaking, or can we actually do something like this?" she asked the Doctor quietly as he steered the ship.
"We'll . . . be breaking a lot of rules, yeah," he said, pausing in controlling the ship as he glanced rather unusually nervous towards her. "I'm breaking one of the biggest rules of them all right now. Never cross your own timeline. I'd be exiled and my TARDIS taken away if the High Council was still alive."
"Then why are we doing this?" Madison asked him sternly, now realising he was acting rather brashly at the moment. If it were such a terrible rule to break, then why do as such?
The Doctor's eyes gazed back at her sadly. "Because . . . everyone deserves to have closure."
Madison blinked, taken back at first. Then, she understood. He wanted to give Rose the chance that most of them never had. She wanted that for Rose as well. To be able to be there for her father and feel at peace with his death. But still . . . it seemed too great of a risk. "I understand, but are you sure? We were just there. How can we be there again without . . . crossing our own time stream or something."
The Doctor frowned, shaking his head at her. "This isn't Back to the Future. I know what I'm doing." He finished steering the TARDIS, though the ship seemed to be in disagreement with where they were going. It audibly groaned and shook as she landed. Madison could feel the TARDIS being uncomfortable with this in her mind. The old girl appeared to be just as nervous as she felt. "We'll time it just right. She'll get her closure and we'll avoid a paradox. Easy," the Doctor whispered to Madison. He grabbed her hand that rested on the console, grinning in reassurance. "Trust me on this. Besides," he glanced towards Rose, who was still by the doors. His gaze grew sad as he stared at her. "I think she needs this."
Madison frowned but did not say anything. She did not wish to cause an argument if she pointed out what was obviously happening here. This wasn't just about helping Rose out. This was more than that. She could tell this was the Doctor living out a fantasy of some sort. Doing something he wished he himself could do for his people. To be there in their last moments before the planet burned. Maybe even do as Rose wished and hold their hands and comfort them as they passed. Madison felt that the Doctor wasn't thinking clearly in this, but . . . she too wanted to help Rose in any way they could. So . . . she decided to follow the Doctor out of the TARDIS without another word. She saw that he had parked the ship down a ways from where they had been last. Rose walked more ahead of them as they went, in a hurry to get this second chance right. Madison glanced back towards the TARDIS as she felt one last urgent call distantly in her mind. The ship was trying to call them back, desperate to get away from here. She looked back to the Doctor, knowing that he must feel the ship's call as well. But he seemed to be solely focused on the task at hand, following Rose at a brisk pace.
"Right, that's the first set of us," the Doctor said as they all came up to the brick wall and peeked around at the past versions of themselves. Madison felt odd staring at herself, seeing how her past self held onto the past Rose's hand and was trying to comfort the girl. All the while the current Rose Tyler was next to her now, hugging the wall and peeking around anxiously towards the road where Pete Tyler would die. Every second that went by, Madison felt the urgent twist in her stomach slowly build. Her instinct was starting to kick in now, urging her to run away from the danger. This wasn't right, them being here. And she didn't even need to be a Time Lord to know that one.
"It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us," the Doctor continued to say quietly, his voice tense as he stared at his past self's back. "Wait til she runs off and they follow then go to your dad." Madison reached for Rose, touching the girl's arm as she saw Rose beginning to shake again. It was like deja vu but in a very wrong sense. The car pulled up then. Pete Tyler was starting to get ready to leave the car. Rose beside her tensed up, going rigid as another Rose ahead of them was seen trembling from head to toe.
"I can't do this," Rose mumbled, shaking her head as she watched the scene unfold once more. Madison frowned, feeling there was more unspoken in what the girl said but couldn't quite reach what the girl was saying.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But this is the last time we can be here," the Doctor warned her. Rose's breath began to come in and out rather quickly as her eyes refused to leave Pete Tyler. Madison felt the girl shift on the spot as Pete began moving out of his car. Then, just as Madison began to realise what the girl was intending, what she meant by 'I can't do this', it was too late. She gasped and reached for Rose as the blonde rushed forward. The Doctor yelled at the girl to stop. Rose ran around their past selves, bolting over to Pete Tyler just as he was about to be run over by the car again. Only this time, instead of being run over, the man was pushed out of the way.
Madison watched with wide eyes as Rose stumbled right into her father, making them both fall away from the other car's path. She hugged Pete hard as she fell on top of him and the vase rolled out of his hand unharmed. The tan car sped on by, driving around the corner of the road and disappearing from view. The past self of Madison turned and looked over her shoulder back to where Madison now currently stood in horror. Both of their green eyes met and Madison felt a wave of nausea hit her before the other version of her wavered and appeared to simply vanish from existence. The other Rose and Doctor followed in suit shortly after. Madison let out a shaky breath as she saw Rose and Pete laying on the road. The girl was beaming at the man as Pete blinked at her in confusion. The man, who she had watched die only moments ago, was now alive and well. Completely unharmed.
"This . . . this is really bad . . . isn't it?" she whispered to the Doctor, turning to look at him. She saw how he was stiff, eyes still wide as he gazed off towards where Rose and Pete were. "Doctor, what do we do?" He seemed to snap out of it then, blinking as he gradually began to glare at Rose. The girl was currently talking with her father, smiling so brightly as Pete stood there speaking to her. The girl was clearly beyond elated as her father was now alive and well. While she was happy and in bliss with saving her father's life, Madison could see the storm building up inside the Doctor. His blue eyes swirled with a thunderous cloud as he angrily seethed in place.
Biting the inside of her cheek, all she could do was stand there nervously and feel a sudden shift in the air around them. A storm was blowing in and she wasn't sure if any of them were prepared for it.
XxXxXxXxXx
Through an awkward turn of events, Rose appeared to tell Pete that they were a part of the wedding guest list. Someone from Jackie and Pete's friends or family was getting married. Madison was not sure if it were a friend or a family member. She did not pay much attention to the details as Pete gave them all a lift back to the Tyler flat. She wasn't certain why exactly they were going back to the flat when the turn of events that had just occurred had been something far too great against time. Shouldn't they be going back to the TARDIS? Try to figure out how to undo the mess that had just happened? Surely there would be consequences that would catch up with them. How were they going to protect Rose if time being altered affected her? As the Doctor said, it was not exactly like Back to the Future but that didn't mean time could be just altered like that without something to happen in return, right?
Madison worried about this and more as she followed the others into the Tyler flat. She hardly paid attention to Pete welcoming them into the home, or even how messy the flat was, different from what it would be like in the future. She glanced at Pete Tyler himself, taking in the man's appearance. From his thinning hairline to the warm hazel-brown eyes of his that she realised were just like Rose's. The wrinkles around his eyes crinkled as he smiled at them. His clothing looked as though he merely threw over a suit top to cover up the messy white t-shirt and blue jeans. He was simply an ordinary man from the 80s. A man who lived his life day to day like everyone else. Not that there was anything wrong with being that. Ordinary that is. But now there was nothing ordinary about him. He was a different event in time. Rose's time. Her time had been changed. Again, Madison worried about what would happen to the girl. Was Rose going to start changing as well, right before their eyes? Or would she become a time anomaly of some sort and now there would be a different Rose Tyler running around?
Again, like Madison had been doing through all of this, she glanced towards the Doctor, wanting to know if he was just as worried as she felt. Once more, there wasn't much coming from him. He kept up a thin smile, nodding as Pete talked and seeming to be keeping it cool. Deadly silent, but cool nonetheless. But she could see it still. That storm in his eyes. It was a cold storm as well. One that made her shiver when she saw it. Oh, dear. He was going to blow up at a moment's notice if they weren't careful.
"Anyway, never mind that. Excuse me, I got to go and change," Pete said to them after talking about an idea he had for a windowsill fridge. Something Madison had only been half-listening to. She nodded and smiled politely as Pete went to a back room and closed the door behind him. Once the door snapped shut, Rose walked more into the living room to look around while the Doctor stood rigidly by the doorframe, his arms crossed tightly against him as he glared at Rose.
"All the stuff Mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she'd had a bit to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be," Rose said as she took in the things that were different from her flat in the future. The trophies. The pictures. The clutter of things. All which spoke of Pete Tyler living in the flat alongside Jackie Tyler. Rose smiled all the while, staring at everything rather proudly. Her eyes still gleamed with the victory of having saved her own father. But then, when Rose turned to beam at the other two, Madison could only shake her head, trying to warn the girl to stop smiling. This wasn't something to be smiling about. Rose had changed time. Not only this but her own time. The girl shouldn't be smiling. She should be scared of what was to come.
She watched as Rose's smile slowly faded. The girl now nervously looked between her and the Doctor. Glancing over, Madison could see the icy glare from the Time Lord. If the girl wasn't hesitant before about what she had done, Madison knew she would be now. That look alone from the Doctor was enough to make anyone second guess every life decision they've made. Rose gulped before looking away hurriedly, taking a breath as she gazed around at things in the flat again. It was clear she tried distracting herself by going over the trophies and tonics and blueprints that Pete had around the place. Maybe in an effort to break the uneasy silence. Madison just kept shaking her head, disappointed with the girl completely. Again, she tried reminding herself that Rose was just a child. She's nineteen. What nineteen year old didn't make mistakes. Madison knew she had when she had been that age. Well, nothing like breaking the fabric of time, but . . . still . . .
"Look, stop shaking your head at me like your my mum scolding me," Rose finally spoke up in annoyance, surprising Madison. Taken back, Madison blinked before frowning heavily, narrowing her eyes at the girl. Rose blushed and looked away, clearly already upset with herself for saying that out loud.
"Excuse me?" Madison muttered.
"I . . . Just stop giving me that look," Rose mumbled, frowning as she glanced between Madison and the Doctor. "Both of you. I didn't do anything wrong, okay?"
"'Didn't do anything wrong'?" Madison scoffed, shaking her head at the girl. "Rose, have you ever read or watched a movie about time travel? What's the one thing they always say never to do? Change time. That's pretty clear and simple, yeah? We don't change time."
Rose scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not changing time. Not anything big, anyway. I'm just . . . saving my dad. Is that too much to ask?"
"But that's changing your time, Rose. Don't you think that this is going a bit too far? Don't you think that by changing this point in your life that it will change everything? You're messing with things that don't need to be messed with."
Rose pouted as she crossed her arms tightly. "Speak for yourself. You go to go off and be all saving the day with trains in the wild west. Even got to see off your old boyfriend one last time. What says you can go around doing things what you want with time and I can't? Why can you make all doe eyes at your old fling, getting cosy up again, and I can't even bother to see my own dad?"
Madison winced, feeling a stab at her heart. Not because of what Rose had said. But because Rose had said it. The girl threw in David and her past to specifically hurt her and that . . . that really, truly, did leave a wound in her heart.
"Because she didn't change time. You did," the Doctor spoke up then. His glare darkened at a whole other level then. "When I mentioned my ship being a time machine, you seemed awfully interested. Then I invited you to come along and you were more than happy to."
"It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought 'I can stop it'," Rose said in defence, dropping her arms as she stood straighter in defiance.
The Doctor shook his head then, lips pressing into a tight smile. "I did it again. I picked up another stupid ape," he muttered. "No wonder you got off so well with that Adam fellow. You two were made for each other."
"Don't you dare compare me to him," Rose bit back crossly, pointing a shaking finger at the Doctor as her face flushed in anger. "I am nothing like 'im."
Again, the Doctor threw Rose a harsh glare. "You're exactly like him. Going about time like it's something to be gained from. 'Cause it's never about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."
"So it's okay when you go to other times and you save people's lives, or Maddie going around seeing her old boyfriends, but not when it's me saving my dad?" Rose retorted back angrily.
"I didn't plan on seeing David in the first place," Madison murmured, starting to hurt more as Rose kept mentioning it. She felt her eyes heat up and prick with unushered tears as it felt like a stab at the heart the more Rose used her experience against her. It was a sharp sting of betrayal. She never thought Rose would resort to saying things like that. Foolishly young or not, that was just . . . cruel.
"Leave Madison out of this. Her experience has nothing to do with what you've done," the Doctor snapped, storming over to Rose and towering over the girl. The blonde blinked, flinching as he glared heatedly at her. "What you've done goes against every time law in existence. You have no idea what you've done, but I do. Two sets of us being there made a vulnerable point."
"But he's alive," Rose tried arguing again.
"Shut up and listen!" the Doctor yelled loudly, voice seething bitterly. Rose flinched again, backing down as she stood there meekly. The Doctor continued to tower over her. "My entire planet is gone. It died. My whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them? Don't you think I want to? Don't you think that maybe I'd love nothing more than to have my family back with me again? But I can't. I never can. Because if I went and undid what had been done, then I'd be undoing everything that I am and is and will be and have been. You're not changing time by saving your dad. You're changing everything that's you and meant to be you."
"But . . . But it's not like I've changed the rest of history," Rose argued meekly, averting her eyes as she appeared uneasy to keep gazing at the Doctor. "Who cares if I've changed my own. It's not changing much. I mean, he's never gonna be a world leader, he's not gonna start World War III or anything." They could see how her eyes started to well up then, biting her bottom lip hard as she sucked in a shaking breath. "I don't care what happens to me. I just want my dad alive. Is that too much to ask?"
The Doctor stepped back and sighed, shaking his head as his glare softened somewhat. Madison too felt her heart go out to the girl. There wasn't anything a little girl wouldn't do for her dad. She knew she too would do anything if it meant saving her own dad. But . . . who knew what sort of woman she would be now if her dad was still alive. Would she even be here now with Rose and the Doctor? Would she have even met the Doctor at all? Was having her father alive and well worth the price of never meeting the Doctor? It was a hard thing to even contemplate. She did not think she could ever choose between the two, her father or the Doctor.
"Rose, we're not saying it's a bad thing to want your dad alive," Madison said gently, walking over to take the girl's hands into hers and giving them a soft squeeze. "Of course we're not saying that. We're just . . . We're trying to get you to understand what consequences you might have to face now because of your actions here. We're worried for you."
"I'm not worried about her. I'm more worried about the fabric of reality collapsing in on itself," the Doctor muttered, earning a sharp look from Madison. He rolled his eyes as she shook her head at him. "There's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive."
"Would you rather him dead?" Rose asked, voice full of spite as she glared at the Doctor now.
"I'm not saying that," the Doctor bit back, rolling his eyes again.
"He's saying that we don't know what's going to happen now that this point in time has been altered. Especially to you," Madison said quickly, interrupting a building argument she could see unfolding between the two. Rose had even begun to open her mouth to angrily throw a retort back at the Doctor. But luckily the girl seemed to rethink it after Madison spoke.
"Especially to us," the Doctor seemed to correct Madison. "This involves everyone now. Not just Rose or us three. Everyone. We crossed into our own timeline, erased a part of it from existence by meeting ourselves, and now there's a man alive who's supposed to be dead. That's about as big of a mess as you'll ever get. There's been a wound in time created and if we're unlucky enough there might be . . ." The Doctor stiffened then. Madison watched as his eyes widened slightly as something seemed to dawn on him. He then glanced back over his shoulder uneasily, a heavy expression crossing his face. "I need to get back to the TARDIS."
"What? What is it?" Madison questioned, already feeling as if there was something happening that he knew about but wasn't telling them.
"Nothing. I just need to check something," he said as he quickly made his way back to the front door. He glanced back towards them, pointing sternly at Rose. "Don't make any more messes. Just stick with Pete and keep an eye on him. I'll be back for you later." He was out the door before either one of them could voice concern about his behaviour. Madison and Rose shared a glance. The girl bit her bottom lip, chewing on it anxiously.
"Do . . . do you really think I made a big mistake?" she asked nervously.
"Yes, a very big one. But that doesn't mean I'm upset with you about it. You're young. You're bound to make mistakes and I'm here for you when you need help correcting them," Madison told her honestly, giving the girl a kind smile. "That's what friends do, after all. They tell each other when things go wrong, give a good scolding sometimes, and kick each other in the butt when the need calls for it."
Rose laughed, smiling weakly. "Thanks. I'm glad I have a friend like you. And the Doctor." Then, the girl's smile fell as she stared meekly back at Madison. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. That wasn't fair of me."
"No, it wasn't, but apology accepted." Madison headed for the door then, glancing back at Rose as she walked away. "As the Doctor said, stay with Pete. Just go to the wedding and we'll catch up with you there." She left the flat before Rose could say anything else.
Walking as quickly as she could, she went down the stairs and towards the street where she knew the Doctor would be walking. She kept up a brisk pace, seeing the Time Lord just up ahead of her and walking fast. She jogged over to catch up, wanting to be there with him for whatever it was he needed help with. For she knew there was something happening now and that he would need help with whatever it was that was coming. She wanted to be there for him with whatever he needed. Time trouble or not.
"Your legs are too long for your own good, has anyone ever told you that?" she said the moment she caught up with him.
"I thought I told you to stay with Rose?" the Doctor said to her, frowning at her as she walked briskly beside him.
"No, you said for Rose to stick with Pete. You never said anything to me," Madison replied smoothly.
"Oh . . . Maybe I just thought about it then," he muttered, shaking his head lightly.
"Do you imagine conversations in your head normally?"
"Sometimes, yeah."
She grinned lightly at him. "Ever talk to yourself and then reply back to yourself when you ask yourself a question?"
"Sometimes, yeah."
"I knew it. It's official. You're loonier than me."
The Doctor grinned lightly. "What was your first clue? The TARDIS or the big ears?"
"Big ears. Definitely." She flicked him teasingly in the ear, smirking as he pouted at her playfully. All teasing and smiles faded as they walked together in silence then. She shivered as she felt a shift in the air. It was like a deep chill was starting to creep in around them. Though maybe that was just her imagining things as she felt her nerves starting to rise. "Really, though, between you and me, how bad is it? What Rose has done. How bad are the consequence going to be for her?"
"I'm hoping nothing and that time will compensate for the change and fix itself up," he answered quietly.
Madison glanced at him, seeing the heavy frown still there on his face. "But you think it's going to be more than that, don't you?"
"Yeah." The Doctor let out a gust of breath, shaking his head. "There are things out there. Things that take advantage of situations like these. Things that . . ." He glanced up then uneasily, brow furrowed as he slowed down and paused as he stared up towards the cloudy sky overhead. "Do you feel that in the air? Like you're being watched?"
"I don't know. Is it that tickle in the back of your neck? Like goosebumps sort of?" Madison replied back, watching the Doctor carefully as he stared around.
He lowered his gaze and looked back at her then. "Sort of, yeah."
"Then, yes. I've felt off since me and my other self looked at each other in the eye."
"You two made eye contact?"
"Yes. Is that bad?"
"Normally, not that bad, no. But now . . ." He puffed out a breath, hands going into his pockets as he stared thoughtfully at the ground. "Too many paradoxes all in one place. That's never a good thing." He started off again, going a bit faster now.
Madison hurried along after, trying her best to keep up. They came up to the sidewalk the TARDIS was parked. The wind picked up around them as they got closer. She couldn't hold back the shiver that crept up her spine. Pausing near the TARDIS, she looked around the sky, still feeling as though they were being watched. What was that? Why was the feeling getting worse? She heard the Doctor open the TARDIS doors and then . . .
"No!" he exclaimed, making her jump slightly in surprise. Her eyes went wide as she saw the Doctor inside the blue box and nothing else. There was nothing. No vast console room. No infinite expanse of a spaceship and all its wonders. No TARDIS whatsoever. Just a plain police box.
"What happened to her?" Madison gasped, gapping at the blue box in disbelief. She touched the side of the wooden box, hoping to still feel the presence of the TARDIS in some way in her mind. But there was nothing. It was true emptiness. Without the TARDIS's presence, it felt . . . like a section of herself was now missing and gone forever. She looked to the Doctor for answers, seeing him just staring at the blue box with wavering eyes. She couldn't even imagine what he was feeling as she knew he had a greater connection to the ship. "Can we bring her back? Can we fix this?"
"I don't know," the Doctor breathed, shaking his head. Then, he turned sharply to her, his eyes growing wide. "We need to get to Rose. Now!" He grabbed her hand then and they ran together down the street.
XxXxXxXxXx
She realized, about halfway into running through the streets of London, that they had no idea where the church was for the wedding. It was most likely something they should have asked Pete before leaving the Tyler flat. But the Doctor seemed to think that if they ran long enough that they would find it. So she kept up with him, gripping onto his hand the whole way. As they went, she began to hear distant screams coming from the rest of the city. All screams that seemed to be cut short before too long. Other than the occasional scream, the city was strangely silent. Uncomfortably silent. It was beyond eerie.
"Do you hear the screams, too?" she asked him, gasping a bit as she was running out of breath. "What's happening to the people?"
"Don't think about it. Just run," the Doctor answered curtly, not at all out of breath from their running. Time Lord biology must be something for him to keep running like this and not struggle to take a breath. Or maybe that was just her. It might be her. Mers were not the best at breathing air, after all.
Eventually, they rounded a corner of the street, coming around a pub and seeing a large, old church down the way from them. The Doctor and Madison sped up as they saw a group of wedding guests and a bride mingling around the entrance of the church. There was Rose, with her back to them, standing stiffly as she seemed tense watching the wedding guests.
"Rose!" the Doctor and Madison yelled together, gaining the blonde's attention. The girl turned and smiled when seeing them there. But her smile vanished when she appeared to notice the urgent expressions on their faces.
"Get in the church!" the Doctor ordered the girl quickly, running even faster now as a dark shadow seemed to hover over Rose. Madison looked up, trying to see what was hovering over the girl. She gasped as she saw a creature appear out of thin air. It was a monstrous creature that appeared to resemble closely to that of a gargoyle. The creature unfurled its large, leathery wings. Its head was a sharp triangle shape with bright red eyes. There was some sort of long tail to it in the shape of a scythe at the end. It had two clawed hands around its chest and as it opened the claws wide and gave an unsettling screech, in the centre of its chest there was a gaping mouth with rows of gleaming, sharp teeth. The creature let out another screeching cry as it swooped down towards Rose who began screaming. The Doctor and Madison both launched themselves at the girl, tumbling down to the ground just as the creature passed over and flew away.
"Are you okay?" Madison asked Rose immediately, seeing how Rose nodded shakily and appeared unharmed for the most part.
"Get in the church!" the Doctor yelled out towards the other wedding guests, running off to chase them all into the church. The people, who had been frozen in fright at the sight of the gargoyle creature, reacted swiftly as the Doctor ran over to them. Everyone began gathering what things they had brought before running towards the old building. Madison held onto Rose's hand as the Doctor ran towards the others, keeping the girl by her side as they took off. But everyone halted as more creatures appeared from the air in shimmering yellow light and began screeching at them all. The Doctor tried to get guests that were coming out of the church to remain inside, but a few people didn't listen as they scattered and ran. The creatures descended then, eating one man and the minister of the church. Even more began showing up, all screeching and flying towards them. The Doctor ordered them inside, making everyone rush as fast as they could towards the church. Once the last person made it inside, the Doctor swiftly closed the heavy wooden doors to the entrance and bolted them shut.
Glancing around at the mass of people within the church, she could see them all shivering, muttering to one another as all were scared of what was happening. She looked over to Rose, seeing the girl watching two other people closely. Following the girl's gaze, she could see Rose was keeping a careful watch over Pete and what looked to be a younger Jackie. The woman had a very 80s hairstyle with a pretty pink dress for the wedding. Madison noticed what the woman was carrying in her arms. That of a baby carrier and a small tiny baby within. It was then that Madison realised it was baby Rose in the carrier basket. A strange shiver went through her as she saw her Rose glance towards the baby. Her gut twisted as her instincts warned her to be cautious.
"They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay. The older the something is, the stronger it is," she heard the Doctor muttering as he walked more into the church and gazed around the place. He watched the shadows of the creatures passed over the windows, their screeching echoing loudly through the place. "Go and check the other doors. Move!" the Doctor ordered the others, rushing off to go check any side doors to the place. Madison followed him swiftly, wanting to help.
"What are those things?" she asked him as she came up beside him.
"They're called Reapers. They're here because of the wound in time," the Doctor answered her quickly, opening a door in the back to see it was nothing more than a cupboard. "They're like bacteria taking advantage. Eating up everything they can."
"Can we stop them?" Madison asked him carefully. She held her breath as he turned around, giving her a grim expression. "We can't survive this . . . can we?"
"I'll figure out something," he said quietly, coming over to hold her upper arms in comfort, staring steadily into her eyes.
"We'll figure something out," she reminded him, giving him a small smile. "We're in this together, remember?" She earned a smile from him, feeling glad that she could bring a smile out of him in a situation like this.
"Can we call the police?" someone in the room asked. Madison glanced over to see it was the groom of the wedding. At least, he appeared to be the groom judging by the suit and flower on his lapel. "I've been trying with my dad's phone thing, but I keep getting this voice." The Doctor walked over, grabbed the large mobile phone from the young man and listened in to it. He then had a small grin.
"That's the very first phone call. Alexander Graham Bell," he said in delight before handing back the phone, face going grim once more. "I don't think the telephone's gonna be much use. The police can't help you now, no one can." Everyone in the room sort of paused, looking at the Doctor as he addressed the room fully. "Nothing in this universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilise the wound." He walked over towards Rose, staring steadily at her. "By consuming everything inside."
"Is this because . . .," the girl began to ask but seemed to rethink her words. She was seen swallowing heavily, staring anxiously at the Doctor. "Is this my fault?" The Doctor didn't answer her, only continued to walk by. Madison walked over, giving the girl a sympathetic look as she patted Rose's shoulder before walking off to follow the Doctor. He was already at the back of the church, checking over the backdoor and making certain it was shut and locked up tightly. Checking to see that they were alone, she turned to him then.
"If those things are here to sterilise the wound . . . they're here to 'correct' the problem that's been made, haven't they?" she asked him quietly. Seeing his grimace and sad expression, she knew her answer. "Does that mean Pete-?"
"It might be the only way, yeah," the Doctor answered curtly, not looking at her as he sonicked the door, fiddling with its lock. She knew he was doing this just to keep himself busy, not really needing to do that.
"We can't just hand him over to those things," she argued.
"Why not? It'd fix the wound. Time returned back to normal. Easy." He turned, eyes hard as he stared at her. "He's the eye of the hurricane now. All we have to do is dispel the eye and the hurricane goes away."
Madison rolled her eyes and shook her head. "One: that's a horrible analogy. Hurricanes don't even work like that."
"It's a decent analogy for a situation like this," the Doctor countered with a heavy frown.
"Two," she continued, ignoring his pout, "what are you going to do, just throw him out to the Reapers like he's their meal?" Seeing his pondering expression she scoffed loudly. "You can't be seriously thinking that."
"No, I'm not. I'm thinking maybe we have Rose try to talk to him about it."
"No."
He raised a brow. "No?"
"No. We can't have Rose try to convince her own dad that he needs to die. We're not doing that to her." Madison remained firm, standing straight as she kept her gaze level with the Doctor's. "Do not force Rose to make that kind of choice."
The Doctor gazed at her steadily, his eyes swirling with his storm unrest. "We all have to make choices we don't want to eventually."
She winced, realizing what he was thinking. "I know that, it's just . . ." She sighed heavily, looking out a nearby window to stare off towards the city. She could see smoke coming from the distance. Most likely those things were causing chaos throughout the city. Maybe throughout the world. So many people were dying because of one mistake. She winced, tearing her gaze away from the window in remorse. She glanced back towards the main part of the church, hearing the wedding-goers all murmuring away nervously. All so frightened by what was happening. There would be Pete in the mix of it all . . . unaware completely of what his life meant to the world now.
"I know you made that promise to Jackie in keeping Rose safe, but you can't protect her from everything," the Doctor said quietly, walking over to get closer to her now.
"I know. And that's what's killing me," Madison spoke, her voice low as she stared sadly at the ground. "Because I can keep her safe from all the monsters in the world, but I can't keep her safe from the nightmares that will haunt her." She remained quiet for a moment, reflecting on her promise made while the screeching of the Reapers outside echoed around them. Looking at him again, she felt her resolve wavering as she stared into the old eyes of the Time Lord. "Is there really no other way?"
Sighing heavily, the Doctor tore his eyes away from her, looking up towards the ceiling as he frowned heavily. Then, he shook his head and gazed steadily back at her. "The Reapers won't fix this. They'll just consume him and then be gone, leaving the mess they've made behind. So there's more to it than that." He walked over closer to her, touching her arm lightly as he gave her a sympathetic gaze. "I'll think of something. I promise."
They backed away from one another when they heard someone coming towards the back of the church. They saw Pete coming over with a set of keys. Madison half-heard him muttering something about finding the keys for the doors before watching him locking the back door firmly. She didn't have the heart to tell him the Doctor had already locked the door a moment ago.
"There's smoke coming up from the city. But no sirens," Pete said after he turned back around to face her. "I don't think it's just us. I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world."
"I think you're right," Madison said, sighing as she nodded her head gravely. "But we can't think about it now. We just need to focus on keeping ourselves safe until we can come up with a plan." She tried mustering up an encouraging smile, but she felt it failed as Pete's expression remained grim as ever. Glancing over then, she saw the Doctor had moved to stare out the nearby window, taking in the sight of the smoke from the city. Or, at least, that was what she thought he was looking towards at first. But then she saw his eyes were tracking something moving and she stepped towards him to peek over his shoulder, seeing a tan car turning around the corner just before disappearing in a shimmer of light. What?
"Was that a car?" Pete wondered aloud as he too was starting to look over the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor turned then, walking away quickly.
"It's not important. Don't worry about it," he said before disappearing around a curtain that separated the back from the front. Madison frowned thoughtfully as she pondered what she had just seen. There was something happening, but . . . Then, as Pete left her there, she saw the car again, making the same exact turn around the corner before vanishing. The same young man with a blue suit jacket flinched and looked as though he were about to hit something before he vanished once more. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she slowly began to realize what the occurrence might mean, but she hoped there was still another way like the Doctor promised. Even if her gut told her she was being in denial and there was no other way . . . she just hoped, for Rose's sake, that there would be light at the end of this tunnel for them.
Thoughts? Feelings? Ideas? Let me know them all in a review. I'm always excited hearing from everyone and seeing what you guys have to say. So, please, please, please review!
Until the next time!