The Christmas Reunion

Chapter Four: Glimpses of Never

By Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

….

The scream echoed in Rose's mind, calling to her and repulsing her at once. She took a step towards the tear before she thought better. Swallowing, Rose caught herself and drew back. Then she took a few more steps back. The distance helped, making the scream fade into the white noise of the tear a bit. She didn't care to take her eyes off the rift, which almost amused her.

Who she had become was in part due to looking into too many things like this. Rifts and tears in the fabric of time that exposed her to the greater universe. The song that played in the back of her mind almost all the time had probably come from that exposure. Rose watched the dance of the refracting light as the rip in time separated it out into all the colours.

The artist in Rose appreciated the spectacle, appreciated the dance of light and the contrasts it created. There was a beauty to it. And yet, all of her instincts and intellect hated what she was looking at. Her body felt heavy, and her jaw tingled as a very heavy feeling of illness hit her. She clenched her jaw, afraid that she was about to be sick.

"White," Rose called. "Black. If you can hear me, I'm looking at a rip in time and space. It's… it's making me ill. More than the others. If this is a side effect of being a Guardian, some heads up would have been nice. The Doctor's working on a solution or at least a defensive line, but if there's a way for me or one of you to close it, that would be nice to know."

There was no answer. The faint scream, white noise, and sounds of future London were all that Rose could hear. Shaking her head, Rose took a few more steps back. The distance helped, but she didn't dare go too far. Not with the possibility of neverweres appearing. Rolling her shoulders, Rose exhaled slowly and counted down from twenty. After all these years, she really should be used to the stress of these situations. Then again, Rose wasn't sure that was something she wanted to get used to.

She distracted herself by wondering how Susan and the Doctor were getting along. Despite the apparently dark turn of the Doctor's last visit, Susan had been welcoming. Then, Rose wasn't sure how long it had been for the woman. She couldn't imagine losing a child. Even knowing that her children would be able to regenerate didn't make the idea of them coming to such serious harm any easier. What Susan had gone through… Rose swallowed and silently promised herself to call her mother.

Though, she wouldn't tell her it was Christmas to her. Rose would wait. She'd save a trip home for Christmas for a bad day or a day that she needed something very human and part of her native culture. Someday, hopefully, many years from now, she'd run out of time with her mother. The long lifespan that Rose was still working on wrapping her head around ensured that. In her future, she'd drop in on Shareen and Shireen to see them and probably sneak in short visits with her mother to steal a little extra time.

The screaming seemed louder now, though it might have been in part to the darker turn Rose's thoughts had taken. Then she noticed the soft growling sounds. She didn't need to look around to know that those sounds were coming from the rip. Her stomach tightened, and her mouth went dry as a sensation of weakness and illness washed over Rose. Tightening her grip on her sword, Rose forced her attention away from the echoing scream and focused on the low growls. It didn't mean for sure that a neverwere was coming, but it wasn't a good sign.

She didn't have to wait long. Only moments later, the colours of the rip brightened, and the temperature dropped. Holding back a shiver, Rose held her sword at the ready. A dark humanoid form fell to the ground. Low and long groans escaped it as it twisted its body to stand. The shape was human or Time Lord or any number of other species, but a faint darkness surrounded the creature. The air rippled around it in a way that Rose didn't remember from the past. She wasn't sure if it marked the neverwere as different or her senses were stronger and more in turn now than they had been before.

It took a step towards. The cold seeped into her bones, and Rose clenched her jaw tight as the sick feeling grew stronger. Then energy rippled across her skin. The song in her head grew loud, echoing as a daze fogged her head. She could see the neverwere, but it was fading away from her focus. Panic gripped Rose, but only for a moment before the song was too loud to ignore.

Rose blinked. The sky was a warm violet colour, and hints of stars were beginning to appear. Rose could see a family. The species was unfamiliar. They seemed human, but purple marks on their cheeks, slightly elongated ears and deep-set eyes marked them as something unique. They were hairless, and their dark skin gleamed with a hint of green. A bulky one that was taller than the others was holding a tiny one in their arms. The landscape was lush with green plants, and Rose could see buildings in the distance.

Then the vision ended as quickly as it had come. Blinking, she stepped back and found the neverwere once again. Deep-set eyes peered at her, and Rose swallowed. Then it snarled and lunged towards her, clawing at her with long and bulky arms.

"Stop!" Rose shouted. "I don't want to hurt you!"

It didn't heed her words, garbled sounds that might have once been some kind of language falling from its mouth as it attacked. Rose dodged the first swing and, with a huff, brought her sword up to strike at the neverwere's torso. It stumbled at the blow, and the strange aura immediately began to fade. Rose could see it. She could feel the pressure of it fading.

The neverwere's body flickered and vanished, leaving no trace of the creature that had already been erased. Despite the weight of the vision, Rose had no time to mourn or process. Two more neverweres of similar shape had emerged from the rift. Pushing down her fear and doubt, Rose raised her sword.

She saw the same alien sky again. The same unfamiliar plants and heard twitching laughter. There was a strong ozone and floral smell. Blinking, Rose pulled back from the strange sights and scents just in time to swing at an attacking neverwere. The second one started to move around her in preparation for flanking. While the first was a humanoid shape, the second was more bestial, similar to a great cat. Both snarled, and Rose stumbled back to keep her eyes on them both.

The beast rushed her; Rose yelped and jumped out of the say, dragging her sword through the creature's side. It was solid but gave under the attack. As it slumped to the ground and began to vanish, Rose huffed and spun back to the second neverwere, bringing her sword up and bracing herself.

…..

The Doctor was a tinker in this life. He was grateful for that. He always possessed some technical skills, and his vast knowledge never left him, but sometimes his hands didn't cooperate as smoothly as he wanted. But in this body, all the little bits and pieces were easy to put together in the right way. That was something he was grateful for, given the condition the TARDIS had been in when he regenerated. Susan hadn't mentioned the stripped-down look, and he was grateful for it.

His granddaughter was watching him. She was right there, and he had to focus on a rip in time. Part of him was grateful for it though he felt horribly guilty for that thought. But the truth was and had always been that he found a crisis easier to deal with than trying to communicate. There was a reason that Rose did the heavy communication parts of their relationship.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected from Susan, but she'd been calmer than he'd expected. The weight of knowing your child was dead… he knew that weight well, and he hadn't even liked his children. For Susan to suffer, it was unbearable, and he knew, the Doctor was well aware, that she was being kind to him right now. The pain of Alex's death couldn't have faded. But then, Susan had always been a kinder and more patient person than him.

"Good enough," the Doctor declared. He grabbed the disrupter and headed for the door. "We'll worry about closing it once there are more defences in place. I don't want to leave Rose against a swarm."

Susan didn't argue with him. He hadn't expected her to, and she followed after him, almost keeping up with his long strides. The TARDIS screen was still flashing as she tried to get a solid scan of the rip. The Doctor didn't expect her to, but it was worth a try. Anything they could learn was good. He wanted to know why there were so many of these things now. It could be the Monk or the Master causing damage to time somewhere in the universe or the Eternals or a completely unknown threat.

His mind was racing as he stepped out of the TARDIS. Susan grimaced, and the Doctor glanced her way. Her mouth was set in a stubborn slight frown that warned him not to try and send her away. It was still tempting.

"This is dangerous, Susan," the Doctor said.

"My children are all grown, Grandfather. Besides, this is a rip in time on my doorstep. I need to see it through."

He nodded, holding back a sigh. Heading to the building, the Doctor noted with a smile that everything was already unlocked and headed for the stairs with Susan right beside him.

"Do you know anything about this building?" he asked.

"Not really," Susan answered. "I've only been here once or twice to visit a neighbour." Susan eyed a bit of mistletoe decorating the stairwell door. "But hopefully, special forces will be here soon to evacuate." She shook her head. "I hate that this is happening on Christmas."

"Rose and I don't have much luck with Christmas," the Doctor admitted as he kept climbing. "Something always happens. Last year, we were stuck on Earth while future versions of us dealt with an issue. That was somehow worse."

Susan laughed. "You do find trouble, Grandfather."

"I don't go looking for it," he said firmly.

The cold was creeping over his skin now in sharp contrast to the sharp burning pain in his skull. Every one of his Time Lord senses was screaming that something was very wrong. He pushed open the door of the roof and stepped out onto the large grey space. There were a few chairs tucked away next to the small entry building, and a few plants pots were scattered around. But it was open and mostly empty except for the tear in time and space that was churning roughly three feet above the surface. Just in the right place to be visible to the ground below and closer to the edge than the Doctor liked.

Rose had her back to them, her sword out and clutched in her right hand. She was standing tall and straight, and the Doctor relaxed a little in relief. Not hurt then.

"Neverweres?" the Doctor asked, striding over to join Rose.

"A few," Rose replied. "But only one or two at a time. No swarm yet."

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, stepping closer to Rose and touching her cheek. There were tear tracks down her face, and sadness lingered in her expression. The device was still held tight in his right hand, and the more rational part of him was telling him to set it up immediately. "You aren't hurt?"

"I'm fine," Rose replied. She offered him one of her tongue touched smiles, but her eyes were dark with worry, and the sorrow remained. Rose glanced down at what he was holding, and her eyes widened a touch. "Uh, are you ready?"

"To close it? No," the Doctor replied. "But we can at least add to the defences. The TARDIS is having trouble getting a clear reading on the rip. Not surprising really." He kissed Rose's forehead quickly, seeking reassurance that she was alright before he knelt and set out the disrupter. Another glance at Rose confirmed that she recognized it. "You know what this is, don't you?"

"Yes," Rose answered honestly. "Built to be used with my sword. I never thought about what happened to it."

"When was that? The memories won't unlock."

She shrugged and looked uneasily at the rift. "It was that time I met your Seventh self," she answered calmly. "I'm not sure what might trigger the memory returning to you, but I don't think it would help right now. That tear in time was forced by the Silver Lord."

"Could this one be his work?" the Doctor asked.

He stood up and frowned at Rose. She was watching the rift and not looking at him. The colours of the broken and refracted light danced across her skin. It would have been beautiful if the Doctor didn't know what it was and its presence wasn't grating on him.

"No, the Silver Lord was actually captured that day. The White and Black Guardians took him." Rose's frown deepened, but then she shook herself. "They would have told me if he escaped. I hadn't thought about him in a long time… I guess he knew who I'd become. A lot more things around him make sense."

The Doctor wanted to ask, but then a strange sound came from the tear. He took a step closer, but Rose reached out and grabbed his arm. Looking at her, the Doctor noted that Rose looked ill.

"It's screaming," Rose replied. "I think it's a woman, but I'm not sure. Depending on the cause of the rip or if it opens somewhere…" She trailed off, and the Doctor understood.

It could be the Time War on the other side. He strained to listen, but the scream was distorted. He couldn't reassure himself that in a cruel twist, the universe wasn't making him listen to Susan screaming in the war. Could be a random person, but even that still hurt.

"You've been crying," the Doctor said softly. "What happened?"

"I saw what the neverweres used to be," Rose replied. The Doctor's hands slipped, and he looked up at Rose with no small measure of horror. She shrugged weakly and swallowed, looking back at the rift. "They're different to me now."

That was all she said. He was tempted to ask, but tormenting her by making her think about it to satisfy his curiosity was cruel. But… in a way, it was a kindness. Not to Rose, but to what the neverweres used to be. The poor, tortured creatures were those that had been erased, usually violently—whole families and planets and species of things that had never existed now. The universe didn't' remember them, and there was no way to mark their passing.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"They're gone now, but they're still a possibility," Rose said sadly. "Even if an aborted one." Shaking her head, Rose stepped back and straightened her shoulders. "So, let's get the defences set up, so no one else becomes a lost possibility and get to work closing the rip."

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor answered. That earned him a soft smile and a surprised laugh from Susan. Not much, but enough for now.