Unto the Universe

Chapter Forty: Seekers of Truth: Pairing Off

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.

AN: I hope all of you are doing well! Thank you so much for the wonderful comments on the last chapter. I promise that nothing in this episode will contradict the Glimpse. There is a plan, even if I'm struggling to kick it into gear because they keep talking.

….

They hit a hard stone floor in a heap. Rose squeaked, panicking as she realized that she was touching her counterpart. Scrambling off the top of the pile, she stumbled away from her counterpart.

"It's okay," her older self said gently. "We're okay to touch. We're a Guardian. Guardians register as a bit different in regards to temporal anomalies." She climbed off the pile and held out a hand to her wife. The blond Doctor took it gratefully and climbed off the blue-eyed Doctor who had been unlucky enough to land on the bottom. "Sorry about the rough ride, folks."

"Did you have to go with that lie?" the older Rose asked. She didn't sound angry or even amused, more resigned. "We could have started with a small lie to test things out."

The future Doctor just grinned and shrugged. "First lie that came to mind. What can I say, Darling? You've gotten me out of the habit."

The older Rose snorted and gave her spouse an unimpressed look. The blonde Doctor at least looked a little sheepish. Rose watched them with curiosity and some amusement. She'd met the Doctor many times in her past and gotten little hints about their relationship, but observing it so openly was new for her.

"Well, we're down here," Rose's Doctor sighed, a bit of anger coloring his voice. "No changing that." He narrowed his eyes at his counterpart and dusted himself off. "So, we need to focus on finding the control room. It didn't drop us straight into a death trap, at least. Still, you might want to correct that lie, just in case."

"Right!" the blonde Doctor took her wife's hand and gazed at her with a smile. "I would never, never, never end our relationship, Rose. While if you ever decided to, I would try to respect that, there would be absolutely no dignity involved. There would be a lot of begging and probably some grabbing onto your legs like Adam did when he was little. It would be embarrassing."

The pyramid made no sounds around them. Rose wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. On Earth, it had been clear that something was happening, but this complex was larger. Her older self shook her head fondly at the Doctor and kissed her quickly. Apparently, she was used to this Doctor's energy and decision-making process. Regeneration certainly ensured that things would never get boring.

"Thoughts on where to go next?"

The blonde Doctor pressed her lips together thoughtfully and looked around. Low lights were thankfully illuminating the passage here as well. A long corridor stretched out both in front of them and behind them. Scanning with the sonic screwdriver, the blonde Doctor frowned for a moment before grinning.

"Oh! I'm getting a ping over here!" She nodded down the corridor, grabbed her wife's hand, and hurried down the stone passage. "This way! Come on!"

Nothing in the passage stood out to Rose. The tight stonework was impressive. There was no sign of mortar between the stones, and she was very curious about the construction methods of the planet. Based on the ruins they'd seen, there might be an internal metal frame under the stones, or it could be another indicator that the pyramid was built by another people who visited. Maybe they had the timeline wrong, and there had been a civilization collapse, and then the aliens had shown up and built the pyramid.

But Rose didn't believe that. Some instinct, a little whisper inside of her, told her that it wasn't true. Rose wasn't sure if she should trust that or not. Was knowing things like that a Guardian thing? She glanced at her counterpart and bit her lower lip. Going with White and Black had sounded like a bad idea for several reasons, but she would have been lying if she pretended that she didn't have more questions about her abilities.

"Here is something!" the blonde Doctor gestured at a nearby wall as the sonic screwdriver in her hand lit up. "High concentration of technology!"

"Do you scan a lot now?" Rose's Doctor grumbled.

"Huh? Oh, a bit. Sometimes." She shrugged and grinned. "Lots to do. Things to do, people to see, and wives to kiss!"

The Doctor's ears turned red while the older Doctor laughed. Then she put the sonic back into her coat and touched the wall. "There's a seam here. It looks like part of this stone is a cover. Must be a panel behind it. Come on, help me get it off."

The Doctors pried the stone out of place with the help of regular screwdrivers. Rose wasn't sure what to think about the future Doctor having an actual, normal screwdriver in her pocket. Then her own Doctor had pulled one out and surprised her even more. Useful to be sure, given that Rose really didn't want to even touch her sword to the walls. Not after the last time. The stone cover shifted, and they pulled it out with the blonde Doctor babbling excitedly as strange crystalline circuits in a metal frame were exposed.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" the blond Doctor released her grip on the stone cover, leaving all the weight suddenly on her younger counterpart.

He glared and dropped the stone against the floor. The sharp thud and scrape of stone against stone echoed in the corridor. Rose's elder self chuckled and shook her head, drawing Rose's attention back to her. She nodded back the way they had come, and the pair moved a few more feet away from the Doctors before her older self turned to her.

"What's wrong?" the older Rose asked.

"You're not being careful," Rose answered. She glanced over to the Doctors as they studied the panel with their singular focus. "I mean, for years we've always been so careful. I understand that you don't remember this, which means that I won't but… Is the pyramid affecting you badly? Is the truth field pushing you to say things-"

"A little, I'm aware of it," Rose answered. "But, that isn't it." The older woman paused and then sighed. "You're just starting out, Rose. I may not remember this, but I remember those early years of being so worried about being a Guardian, about messing things up and my powers activating against my will."

"I just took us through the Timelock to see Susan."

"Yes, that's a good memory." The older woman smiled wistfully. "I wish we could have told her more about the future. I wish she could have met her aunts and uncles and experienced more family beyond her father." The older Rose growled the last word and made Rose wonder what more she knew about the Doctor's family that she didn't. "Anyway, I think you need to see me confident. See me not being worried about this. It'll be alright. I promise. The Doctor has a lot of ways to deal with crossing his own timeline, and we can manage that as well."

"Still…" Rose trailed off, not sure what to say. Her elder self's words about her confidence were a little too on the nose. But then, she would know. "You really remember this?"

"Yes. People imagine, well, the people who know, imagine that it's easy. That I just woke up one day as the Gold Guardian, and everything made sense. It didn't. Our domain is Life. The only way forward, Rose Tyler, is to live your life. Keep growing, keep gaining confidence, and learning new things."

"But I won't remember this, so what's the point of this conversation."

Her elder self smiled at her, a small and thin smile that was warm but also a great deal like a smirk. "We know that memory is more than what you consciously know. This conversation won't linger, but part of you will know that someday we'll be comfortable. We'll be able to track temporal dangers and move around them. We'll be able to laugh about our responsibilities."

Swallowing, Rose nodded. She couldn't argue with those words. They were correct. The pair of them, Rose Tyler of N Space, did know that memory was a complicated thing. Even that which was forgotten or put away on a shelf had an impact.

"Okay. And the Doctor? Did you two discuss this?"

"Oh no, this is just what the Doctor is like in this body," the older Rose laughed. "Bit on the wild side. But we have fun together. Pity our companions aren't here. They would have gotten a kick out of meeting the Doctor in a previous body."

"And the memory thing? Are you going to erase my memory when this is done? Or can I do that myself to maintain the timelines? Do you know how this is supposed to happen?"

Rose smiled serenely. "It's not a question of knowing what happens. It's a question of knowing myself. You'll see."

Sighing, Rose glared at her older self. "I've become annoying, I see."

"Oh, let's not start that! The Doctor does that more than enough. Talking of them, we should check on them." She paused and met Rose's gaze; her eyes were more gold than brown now. "It really is going to be alright, Rose. It's not just about our marriage and the kids. WE will be alright. Let that sink in and try to believe it."

Then she turned on her heel and headed down the long corridor to the Doctors. Rose trailed after her, feeling both relieved and very young at the same time. She was tempted to ask how old her counterpart was but was concerned about the potential risks. The conversation replayed in her mind. The pyramid had never shifted. None of it was a lie.

Sighing, she shook her head. There wasn't much reason to try to get more information. She wouldn't remember. Something was going to happen that would mean she wouldn't remember this, and that was concerning on its own. Everything had been calm so far, besides the crossing of their timelines.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Rose asked her counterpart, nodding towards the Doctors.

"Us."

…

The Doctor was a bit lost in all of this. He was crossing his timeline, and yet things were shockingly calm. His counterpart hummed softly as she worked. She was completely at ease. That was new for them. There hadn't been a single snide comment yet.

His counterpart stopped fusing with the crystalline circuity and studied him for a moment. Despite the wild behavior and her youthful appearance, the Doctor could see the age in her eyes that was greater than even him. But her eyes weren't as haunted. It was hard to believe, but it was there, plain for him to see. Somehow, someway, this future version of him was… okay.

"I'm Thirteen," his future self said. Then she exhaled and looked towards the Roses. "Last life. No regenerations. The last us was pretty careful, even settled down with Rose for a couple of decades on Earth. I mean, yes, it was to protect her, but just… living a life with her was part of it too."

The Doctor wasn't sure what to think about that and followed her gaze to the older Rose. There were some signs of age, but they were minor, almost cosmetic rather than real. Her hair was still honey gold with the slightest hint of red from her father, her warm skin free of wrinkles, and her eyes as bright as ever.

"We'll be leaving her when I go," his future self added. "I think Rose is planning something, but… still need to be careful. Things don't always go according to plan. Funny, isn't it?" She looked back at him and chuckled. "Not long ago, we were looking at ways to extend her life, and in the end, it's us who will live the shorter life span."

"Yeah," he agreed. He'd figured that Rose would move on before that was ever an issue. But apparently, she wouldn't. Rose would stay with him. "She seems happy." He smiled despite his future self's serious tone. "We've made our precious girl happy."

"That's been our purpose for years now, over two thousand years, in fact," his future self said. He must have looked surprised. "We've done a better job looking after bodies, well, most of us. Though you… can't argue with your choice."

That was something. He wasn't going to ask; he wouldn't remember anyway. "And the kids?"

"Yeah, she'll have them. And their descendants, but… I don't know. Love Jack and don't want to break his relationship, but there's a part of me that is starting to resent him being her Disciple and not us." She shook her head. "I hate that. Back when I could regenerate, it would have been a bad mix, but now…." His future self shrugged and shifted uncomfortably. "Don't want to leave her."

"Have you talked with her about it?"

"Tried; it's hard," she replied. "I both want more kids and am scared of having more kids. They'd be more of us in the universe, more of Rose in the universe, more people to love her if we go, but-"

"Potentially, they wouldn't grow up with you," the Doctor finished, understanding where his older self was going.

"Yeah. Bit of a mess." She crinkled up her nose. "Odd to be talking with you about it. You're still reeling at the idea of having more than a few decades with her."

"Even a few decades would have been a gift."

"Oh yes," she breathed. Her smile was blinding, and she looked utterly besotted. The Doctor wasn't sure about them having that expression though he suspected it appeared on his face frequently. "It's been fantastic! I shouldn't dwell on it. Don't want to lose my remaining time worrying about it." Turning to look up at him, she smiled fondly. "After all, you were the Doctor who was brave enough to love her despite knowing time was limited. Thanks for that, for not mucking it up. I know we don't always get along with ourselves, but all of us after you owe you a lot. You put our life back together and found Rose. I can't imagine who we would have been without that."

"Doubt we would have made it," the Doctor said.

He couldn't help but think about the aborted timeline he'd died in. If not against the Autons, there was some other threat that would have killed him without Rose's help. And… and he knew that he wouldn't have been interested in regenerating. Accepting that he had to keep going had only come when he'd learned that he was supposed to be a part of Rose's past in his future. The need to maintain her timelines had been what convinced him.

"I'm not going to remember this," the Doctor said. "And I probably shouldn't ask, but… but how many kids do we have?"

Glee lit up his future self's face, and the Doctor watched with wide eyes as she pulled a photo album from her pocket. She shifted closer to him and opened it with a flourish, revealing a page full of baby pictures. Rose, looking tired but smiling and holding newborns. There was also a photo of a young blonde woman standing in the TARDIS and looking around with an awestruck grin.

"That's Athena," the Doctor said. "She's our eldest. Well… eldest post-Gallifrey, I suppose. She was actually made by a machine using our genetics only, though Rose turns feral if anyone suggests that Athena isn't her daughter too. Probably a bit too much like us, but a good girl though you wouldn't think much of her taste in men. Loves all of her siblings dearly." Then she pointed to a photo of Rose with a tiny brunette baby. "That's Astra, our first womb-born." His future self proceeded to show him photos of Astra grown-up, who looked a great deal like Rose. "This is Alistair; he's a lot like Rose." The photos were of a brunette man with kind eyes in a group photo with Athena, Astra, and another brunette woman. "And that is Alice, our third daughter. Has your eyes." Indeed, the brunette woman had the same blue eyes that he saw in the mirror every time he shaved. He couldn't help but smile about that. "They were all born in our tenth body. The first litter. They all grew up being playmates."

"Playmates," the Doctor repeated with a smile. It made his head spin, but his future self wasn't done. "There's more?"

"Litter two!"

She flipped through more pictures of the children she'd already introduced him to. Many of them were domestic shots with birthday cakes in front of Christmas trees, several with Rose and Jackie and a brown-haired man in pinstripes he suspected was his next self. There were even a few photos of the children growing up with former companions, including Sarah Jane, Barbara, Ian, Ace, and Jo.

"And these are the twins!" Exasperation filled her voice. "Natural born twins gave Rose a hard time in pregnancy, I'll tell you." She laughed a little and tilted the photo album so he could see the two bundles in Rose's arms. "But worst of all, Arthur and Aidan are gingers!" His future self turned the page to a photo of the boys a bit older. Sure enough, they both had light ginger hair and green eyes. "Got it from Rose's dad, lucky Time Tots. Of course, they'll rub it in sometimes. And they invented their own language just to taunt us. To this day, the TARDIS refuses to translate. Finds it too funny." Shaking her head, she turned the page. "And this is our baby. Aurora. Blonde like Rose and oh so sweet. As long as she isn't with her siblings. You put her and the twins together, and there's a good chance there's going to be at least one explosion. They were a real handful for our eleventh body."

"Seven children," the Doctor heard himself say. "We have seven children. With Rose."

"Wild, isn't it." She grinned and flipped through more pages, showing off even more photos. "We've got grandkids and great-grandkids too, our sort of daughters Ace and Amelia and our adoptive granddaughter Bill. Well, she was our adoptive granddaughter back when I was an old Scotsman, but after I regenerated, she started referring to Rose and me as her gay mums though she and the others all still call me Dad and Grandad. Bit funny. Though, you look ready to fall over." Snapping the book shut, the Doctor slipped it back into the pocket of her coat and patted it. "Love showing off the photos! Dangerous to bring up the kids with me."

The Doctor nodded vaguely, unsure of what to say or do. It was strange, getting along with another version of themselves like this. Normally, it was all fighting and snarling. Regeneration was awkward for any Time Lord, and his history with it, his repressed knowledge of its cost had meant it never sat well with him. There had been times he'd considered not regenerating at all. But the universe still seemed to need him, and he still had a debt to be paid.

He tried to keep working, tried to keep sorting through the circuits, and learn how the odd system worked. But it was difficult. There was no crisis brewing, no one's life was in danger, and the field had been active for a thousand years, so a few minutes wouldn't make a big difference. That made it hard to focus on anything but the realization that Rose Tyler wasn't going to leave him.

"Can't believe she stays with us." The words slipped out as he looked towards the pocket where the album had been put. A book full of evidence that Rose Tyler wasn't going to leave. "I mean…"

"I remember," his older self said kindly. "People don't stay with us. They come, and we get attached, and then they move on. Go back to their lives or worse, run from the TARDIS, terrified of the things they've seen." She shuddered and then sighed. "Rose won't. She stays on the TARDIS. No, more than that, she stays with us. At one point, we get stuck in 1969 for a few months. Rose could have just left. She had the power to as the Gold Guardian, but she stayed with us while we completed a time loop. Just the two of us in a small flat in London."

"That's… well, hard to believe."

"I know. Things are new for you, aren't they?" She laughed and shook her head. "We will eventually tell her that we were looking at ways to extend her lifespan. Don't worry; she'll think it's sweet."

He blushed, and his counterpart laughed at him.

…

AN: Wow the longer this series goes on, the more the future Doctors deviate from canon because they have a much more stable support system and a partner who tells them that maybe that's not a good idea. Plus, I'm just ignoring huge chunks of canon at this point so they're avoiding a lot of canon trauma in favor of new trauma inflicted by me. With Thirteen, I literally just picked some of the personality quirks to keep and threw out a lot of the drama. Her identity issues storyline just doesn't fit in this universe.

Given how she talks about the 'fam' I figure there is no way that Thirteen wouldn't be armed with photos of her kids/grandkids/extended family tree to show anyone who makes the mistake of asking. But Thirteen due to there being no War Doctor and no metacrisis is actually the last of the regeneration cycle so she gets the mortality issue. Hope you're liking my version of her. I really wanted to make sure she featured at least once outside of Glimpses.